Prepared fire kindler



July 2, 1940. P. A'. MULC'EY 2206x362 PREPARED FIRE KINDLER rind June 2s,` 193s INVENTOR fmg Patented July 2, 1940 UNITE-o STATES PATENT OFFICE PREPARED FIRE KINDLER Paul A. Muloey, Aldan, Pa.

Application June 23, 1938, Serial No. 215,421

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to the ignition of combustible material and more particularly to a prepared package for starting or kindlinga fire.-

Some of the objects of the present invention are to provide a new and improved kindler; to

provide s. kindler for quickly and eilectively starting a lire in either a mechanical or natural draft heater; to provide a lrindler wherein the rate andmanner of ignition can be varied according to 1U requirements; to provide a kindler which is not only cheap to prepare and market but can be handled easily and without danger to the user;

to provide a kindler in. the form of a compact, light container of combustible material so treated le chemcauy that its rate of burning is predetermined and which serves to hold readily coinbustlole material designed to ignite a heel o fuel in Contact therewith; and to provide other im7 provements es will hereinafter appear.

ln the accompanying drawing Fig. l represents a front elevation, in part section, o1" a himiler embodying one form of the present invention; Fig'. 2 represents a front elevation, in part seo tion, of a lei'ndler embodying a motliilefl form oi? the invention, and Fig. 3 represents a iront elen votion, in part section, ci a hlndler emcoclyine another form oi the invention. Referring to the drawing one i'orm of the ent invention ls shown in Florine l., wherein the package lrindler consists of a 'pag i@ oi? paper, such 'for example as brown kraft pap-er, though it may be suitable relatively quiet: hure ing material, oi' a convenient sise for-handling' having; e. capacity such as will ensure e. -3 flcent for ignition lt has seen found that standard size #2 gives satisfactory and efficient results. For .mechanical draft use. for example ignitlng coal in the retort of e. stolesry the material of the bag l@ is impregnated with chemical, rendering it relatively slow burning with nameless combustion, potassium nitrate heu ing the preferred materiel though other chemicalc. such as sodium. nitrate, ammonium nitrate, potassium chlorate, sodium chlorate, and potasslum permangsnate, either alone or mixed may be used with fair results without departing from the invention. impregnation oi the bag in the present instance ensures a combustion suiilciently slow. to enable the user to light the hindler out` 50 side of the furnace, while in the hand, after which it he placed in the uel leed without danger ci injury or the necessity for undue haste. This also maintains a tenacious combustion` in the osg or Wrapper until the contents are Well ignited.

The bag iii forms a receptacle for a quantity ol paper Il, such ior example as shredded newspaper or like material cut or torn into small pieces. Preferably less thantwo ounces of this paper Il is placed in the bag il) in such a. manner as to'leave a cavity in the approximate center thereof. This cavity is lled with about two and one half ounces of suitably sized charcoal ii, one half to one inch pieces being preferred. When thus assembled with the charcoal l2 ericompassed by the paper ll, the sides forming the mouth of the bag it are folded back one over the other to close the mouth and are then sealed in closed position by a gummed strip it' or the like.

l'n the torni o the invention shown in Figure 2, a heg it formed o1 paper, also preferably of .brown kraft, but of larger size than that 'shown in Figure l, say for example standard size #6.

This form or" the invention ls more particularly T for use With natural drat and to that end it is desirable that the rate ci combustion be increased over that required for forced draft firing. Theren fore the material of the osg is impregnated with paran ae the preferred chemical, though the invention is not so limited. The contents of the lill t sieh approximately fourteen ounces and consist of about twenty-tive per cent pine chips, eine hnots, or shavings soaked in pine oil, plus -aloe-wt seventy-live per'cent charcoal it this latter losing preferably, lout not necessarily, tetl in; the central portion of the wood. hihihihi?.

the invention wn Figure or container il or other suitcoinhustihle materia-.l envelopes "oody of cli:oil-'cent` i8, which is sealed therein by closing the :mouth of the bag in any approved inanwhich the heater is heated. In solving this proh- V the oil rather equally throughout the mass with the result that ignition is quite instantaneous but continues relatively slowly, producing a high state of-incandescence in the charcoal for such a period of time as will ensure the contacting coal or other fuel being ignited for permanent burning under natural draft.

It will now be apparent that a novel compact kindler has been devised which is easy to handle, safe to handle, and eiective for the purpose intended. Furthermore by reason of a selective impregnating agent it is possible to obtain a rate of combustion which in effect matches the type of heater with which it is to be used, namely a forced draft type or one having natural draft.

While three forms are shown in vwhich this invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specie substances recited as preferred but might beapplied to various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention or the vscope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: A kindler adaptedfor ignition of the fuel bed of automatic stokers consisting of a core of charcoal aggregates arranged to present a large surface area with interspersed air spaces, a sur` rounding mass of shredded combustible material having a higher rate of combustion than the charcoal core but so proportioned and compacted with respect thereto to progressively ignite the same in use, a paper container, and a combustion controlling chemical selected from a group consisting of the alkali metal nitrates, chlorates and permanganates incorporated in said container to maintain a flameless progressive ignition at a lower rate than the shredded combustible material ignited thereby to permit hand ignition of the kindler and safe deposition of the same on a stoker fuel bed, said chemical under forced draft igniting the combustible material whereby the charcoal aggregates and the fuel 20 bed are successively ignited.

PAUL A. MULCEY. 

